Democrats fume at "waste of time" Trump admin briefing on Iran

House Democrats left a Friday morning briefing on Iran from Trump administration officials largely grumbling at what they described as "propaganda" and a "waste of time."Why it matters: The briefing appears to have done little to alleviate the growing tension around the Trump administration largely keeping Congress in the dark about its actions and not seeking congressional authorization."Most of what I heard [in the briefing] is in the public domain already," former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told Axios. "I didn't find it to be that constructive."House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said it was "really important" for the briefing to be held, but that "there was a little too much focus on tactical stuff.""We've got a cornucopia of adjectives ranging from 'obliterated,' to 'destroyed,' to 'set back,'" said Himes. "The question is: Did we significantly set back their [nuclear] program? And we still don't have a good answer."State of play: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine delivered the briefing. The session was initially scheduled for Tuesday but, to the frustration of Democrats in both chambers, was unexpectedly postponed.It came as Democrats are increasingly getting behind an effort to force the administration to seek congressional approval for any further strikes on Iran.What we're hearing: Several House Democrats, granted anonymity to speak candidly about a classified setting, offered more explicit frustrations about the briefing."It was a waste of time. I want that hour of my life back," said one. "They were just trying to justify the [strikes] and parrot the talking points.""I felt like it was a lot of propaganda," said another.A third told Axios: "When you appoint such highly political, loyal appointees, then you don't expect to get any kind of objectivity ... you want them to have enough credibility that a person on the other side of the aisle would listen to them."What they're saying: Several House Democrats told Axios that their main source of frustration was that the briefing focused too much on operational aspects of the strikes and didn't touch on the administration's overall strategy on Iran."I'm not sure I needed to know the precise fusing of the [bunker busters]," said Himes. "I know that's a lot of fun for the boys, but I would've liked a lot more conversation on the strategy in the future.""There's nothing of use that I learned," said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), adding that they got operational details like "how many planes we used in the [strikes]."Nadler said the briefers told lawmakers the strikes did "very significant damage" to the targeted facilities, but that "the question still is, there's a certain amount of 60% enriched uranium ... unaccounted for. And that's the key, no matter what damage is done to the facilities."The other side: Other lawmakers argued that the briefing was productive — or at least as productive as any other briefing to Congress."I thought it was a good report, they made some good points," said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.).Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Iran's nuclear program has been "set back years" and that the enriched uranium will be addressed through diplomatic efforts."I feel very satisfied," said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas).The intrigue: Despite Democrats' frustration about an Axios report that the Trump administration plans to restrict the sharing of classified information with Congress, the topic wasn't brought up during the Q&A.Himes told Axios he spoke separately with the legislative affairs team for the Director of National Intelligence and "they assured me in no uncertain terms that they will continue to abide by the law to provide ... full and current information."McCaul said he expects the administration will continue sharing intelligence with "the relevant committees" because "this is a time-honored tradition.""We're the policymakers, so they can't— we make the laws and we authorize and we have oversight," McCaul added.— Axios' Kate Santaliz contributed reporting.

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